Universal Reveals the “Dark Universe”

We’re just two weeks away from the release of Universal’s The Mummy, the first in a presumed shared universe of inter-connected monster movies. Presumptions have now officially been made reality as Universal has not only given this shared universe a name – “Dark Universe” – but they’ve already revealed the next feature to follow after The Mummy.

Bride of Frankenstein will be released on February 14th, 2019 – a romantic date for Universal’s most delightfully frightful couple. The film will be directed by Bill Condon – right off the heels of his monster hit (see what I did there?) Beauty and the Beast – based on a screenplay by David Koepp (Jurassic Park).

Angelina Jolie has long been rumored to portray the role made famous by Elsa Lanchester in the 1935 James Whale original. While no official casting announcement has been made, Universal has stated that casting of the titular role will be announced soon.

Universal has already confirmed that Academy Award Winner Javier Bardem will be joining the Dark Universe family as the Frankenstein Monster, so we can only assume that he will be playing a major role in Bride. Bardem is the latest actor to join the star-studded Dark Universe alongside Johnny Depp as The Invisible Man, Russell Crowe as Dr. Jekyll, Tom Cruise as Nick Morton, and Sofia Boutella as the titular monster in The Mummy. Universal has assembled the stars in the first official Dark Universe cast photo below.

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Additionally, Universal has released a sizzle reel comprised of footage from the original Universal Monsters shared universe (more on that here).

What are your thoughts on the Dark Universe? Which monster are you most excited to see reimagined on the big screen? And most importantly, which of these movies will make the best future Halloween Horror Nights house?!

-Freddy